Good Receiver Even Today
Written: Feb 06 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Good sound, loaded with features, durability.
Cons: Only Pro Logic, some buttons the remote confusing.
The Bottom Line: Powerful audio receiver for the average user who enjoys music and movies. Only Pro Logic so not good for people who want excellent home theater.
|
|
|
| lynus's Full Review: Onkyo TX-SV343 Receiver |
I bought this receiver almost 3 years ago, so most likely this product is no longer offered by Onkyo. But if you find one online or at a used electronics store, here's what you should expect from it.
Three years now and my Onkyo is still going strong. In fact it has surprised me how well it still sounds, and that it hasn't had one major problem yet. I did have one problem with the receiver in it's first year, but that was my fault for hooking up the wrong speakers to it. The power unit inside the receiver burned out, but that's what warranties are for.
The Onkyo TX-SV343 is a Dolby Pro Logic receiver, which means it separates the sound out to the front two speakers (left and right), the center speaker, and the two rear speakers (surround). The TX-SV343 also has an input for a subwoofer, but you'll have to have a powered subwoofer, since the Onkyo wasn't designed to power the subwoofer. Also, the signal that is sent to the rear speakers (surround) is one signal, not two. Basically this means that the sound coming from the rear is exactly the same from both speakers. You won't hear any stereo audio effects where the sound seems to travel from one rear speaker to the other.
The TX-SV343 also comes loaded with inputs. You can hook up three VCRs, a CD player, a tape deck, a record player, and more. You can also hook up a second set of speaker and place them in another room, and split the signal between both the "A" and "B" set of speakers. This feature allows you for example to listen to the CD player in one room, and the radio in another, all with the same receiver. However, if both set of speakers are on, the surround sound and Dolby Pro Logic features won't work.
The remote is handy and easy to use, and you can control just about everything with it. You can turn off the speakers or just mute them. You can switch between all your inputs, and you can control the main volume, center volume and rear volumes with separate buttons. Also, you can turn on a test mode which will send white noise (static) through the speakers so you can properly set up and test of the volume for your home theater to sound good.
When I bought this product 3 years ago, it was priced around $400 dollars. Over time, and if kept in excellent care, I would say it could fetch around $100 to $150 today. If you find one for sale, expect to pay that much for a well kept model, and less if it's in poor condition.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.00
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
lynus
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Reviews written: 587
Trusted by: 169 members
About Me:
Slowly trying to get back to the thick of things.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.